Ahmedabad: Mohammed Siraj’s best-ever bowling performance on home soil dismantled the West Indies batting lineup before KL Rahul anchored a commanding reply with a composed half-century, as India finished a dominant Day 1 of the first Test in a commanding position. After bundling the visitors out for a paltry 162, India reached 121/2 at stumps, trailing by just 41 runs with eight wickets in hand.
Opting to bat on a green-tinged surface in Ahmedabad, the West Indies’ top-order woes continued. Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah were relentless with the new ball, making it nip both ways. Siraj struck first, inducing a leg-side nick from Tagenarine Chanderpaul, before Bumrah trapped John Campbell, sending both openers back to the pavilion within the first half-hour.
Siraj was in scintillating form, producing a masterclass of seam bowling. He brilliantly set up Brandon King, bowling a series of inswingers before a delivery that held its line clipped the top of the off-stump as King shouldered arms. Soon after, he had Alick Athanaze caught at second slip, leaving the West Indies reeling.
A brief partnership between Roston Chase and Shai Hope offered some resistance, but their plans were foiled just before lunch by Kuldeep Yadav, who produced a classic leg-spinner’s dismissal—a drifting, turning delivery that snuck through Hope’s defence to hit the stumps.
After lunch, Siraj continued his charge, claiming the wicket of Chase to finish with figures of 4 for 40, narrowly missing out on a maiden five-wicket haul at home. Bumrah returned to clean up the tail with two unplayable yorkers, finishing with an impressive 3 for 42.
In response, India’s openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal started cautiously. After a brief rain delay, Jaiswal switched gears, hitting a flurry of boundaries in a quickfire 36 before edging a delivery from Jayden Seales. After Sai Sudharsan fell cheaply, Rahul dropped anchor. He played with serene confidence, reaching his 19th Test half-century to ensure India capitalized on the bowlers’ exceptional performance and ended the day firmly in control.
Brief Scores: India 121/2 (KL Rahul 53*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 36; Jayden Seales 1-21) trail West Indies 162 (Justin Greaves 32; Mohammed Siraj 4-40, Jasprit Bumrah 3-42) by 41 runs.
